The invention relates to kitchen gadgets, water-play toys, and classroom demonstration models.
Timers: Firstly the invention is related to clocks. A typical pendulum clock is a way of regulating the force of gravity, so that the work done raising weights can be expended in a controlled way. A second part of the clock translates the regular motion of the pendulum into time measurement. Another way of controlling the force of gravity in a controlled way, so as to measure time, is the hourglass, wherein work is done raising sand by turning over the hourglass, and the force of gravity pulling down the sand is controlled by a narrowing of the glass container, so that only a few grains of sand can pass through the xe2x80x9cbottleneckxe2x80x9d at a given instant.
Water clocks employing gravity to cause water to drip at a slow rate and thus measure time date to ancient Chinese dynasties. However there do not seem to be recent efforts to improve them.
Water-play toys: Devices for enjoyment of water flow, such as the bathtub rubber duck from which water can be squirted, abound. Many ingenious devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,960 issued to Lee for a SPRINKLER TOY HANDLE PUMP, expand on this idea through mechanical means. Also such inventions can be pursued through electrical power, as for example in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,728 issued to Ming-Ann Chiang for a FOUNTAIN DEVICE. However such devices and others such as squirt guns employ quantum amounts of water only incidentally, for example by pulling the trigger repeatedly on a squirt gun.
Classroom demonstration models: There are many classroom models for demonstrating periodic motion, such as the tuning fork, which creates a sound by vibration of air. Here the cycles come too fast to count. Mechanical means with more visibility include the pendulum and the spring-mass system. Electrical means include the LC- or LCR-circuit coupled to various meters and oscilloscopes, or even more complicated electrical systems such as dynamos. However the amount of equipment required typically becomes so extensive that the devices are relegated to a laboratory, leaving nothing for classroom demonstration, for example in a mathematics class.
Non-linear or non-uniform models: Nonlinearities and non-uniform properties enter most demonstration models of periodic motion at some stage, for example due to resistance R in the LCR circuit. In some cases nonlinearities play an essential role in the operation of devices. However there is always room for demonstration models in which the nonlinearity or non-uniformity can be related in an understandable way to the results.
According to one aspect of the invention, a bottle timer includes a clear plastic bottle and a chart extending along its side. The clear plastic bottle has a seal able cap so that it is capable of holding a fluid. The seal able cap has an open position that allows fluid to flow out of the interior chamber out of the clear plastic bottle. The seal able cap also has a closed position that prevents fluid from flowing out of the clear plastic bottle. The chart includes a first level corresponding to a start time and a second level corresponding to an end time. The flow of a fluid out of the clear plastic bottle from the first level to the second level represents a pre-determined amount of time.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the clear plastic bottle includes flexible sides so that the flow of fluid out of the clear plastic bottle occurs in quantum amounts. More specifically, the flexible sides bend inward with the flow of fluid out of the clear plastic bottle. The flexible sides are restored to their initial position when air refills the vacuum created by the flow of fluid out of the clear plastic bottle. Typically, the pre-determined amount of time for the fluid level to drop from the first level to the second level is three minutes or less. The corresponding chart is calibrated in seconds.
According to another aspect of the invention, a bottle timer includes a plastic bottle, a tube and a graduated line. The plastic bottle includes an opening or aperture. The tube passes through the opening so that one end of the tube extends into the plastic bottle and another end of the tube extends out of the plastic bottle. The tube is sealed with the opening so that fluid flow out of the bottle must pass through the tube. The graduated line extends along the side of the plastic bottle. It is calibrated so that flow of the fluid out of the plastic bottle from a first level to a second level along the graduated line represents a period of time.
According to further aspects of the invention, the plastic bottle is constructed of clear, flexible plastic. The flexible sides cause the flow of fluid out of the plastic bottle to occur in quantum amounts. The tube is also constructed of plastic, such as a common plastic straw. A support attaches along a bottom portion of the plastic bottle at a position that avoids any interference with the flexible sides. A receptacle is positioned below the tube so that the receptacle catches the fluid that flows out of the plastic bottle.
According to still further aspects of the invention, another graduated line extending along the side of the plastic bottle. This graduated line is calibrated so that the flow of the fluid out of the plastic bottle in the quantum amounts from a first level to a second level represents the number of the quantum amounts (i.e. the quantum fluid flows).